Women have served in state legislatures in the United States since 1895. Their ranks have increased with the advent of nationwide women's suffrage after 1920. Although the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled since 1971, [2] they remain underrepresented. In 2023, women held less than half of the seats in state legislatures across the majority of states. [3] Specifically, seven states —Oklahoma (19.2%), Louisiana (19.4%), Alabama (17.4%), South Carolina (14.8%), Mississippi (14.5%), Tennessee (14.4%), and West Virginia (11.9%)— had legislatures where women occupied less than 20% of the seats. [3]
Location | Rank | Senate | Senate ratio | House | House ratio | Overall ratio | Overall percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 46 | 3D, 1R | 4/35 | 10D, 10R | 20/105 | 24/140 | 17.1 |
Alaska | 25 | 2D, 3R | 5/20 | 7D, 6R, 2Ind | 15/40 | 20/60 | 33.3 |
Arizona | 2 | 11D, 5R | 16/30 | 20D, 9R | 29/60 | 45/90 | 50.0 |
Arkansas | 43 | 2D, 3R | 5/35 | 10D, 16R | 26/100 | 31/135 | 23.0 |
California | 11 | 15D, 3R | 18/40 | 27D, 5R | 32/80 | 50/120 | 41.7 |
Colorado | 3 | 11D, 2R | 13/35 | 30D, 5R | 35/65 | 48/100 | 48.0 |
Connecticut | 16 | 10D, 2R | 12/36 | 39D, 19R | 58/151 | 70/187 | 37.4 |
Delaware | 20 | 8D, 0R | 8/21 | 14D, 0R | 14/41 | 22/62 | 35.5 |
Florida | 12 | 7D, 9R | 16/40 | 25D, 15R | 50/120 | 66/160 | 41.3 |
Georgia | 21 | 14D, 2R | 16/56 | 46D, 19R | 65/180 | 81/236 | 34.3 |
Hawaii | 18 | 8D, 0R | 8/25 | 18D, 2R | 20/51 | 28/76 | 36.8 |
Idaho | 30 | 4D, 7R | 11/35 | 5D, 16R | 21/70 | 32/105 | 30.5 |
Illinois | 10 | 20D, 5R | 25/59 | 43D, 6R | 49/118 | 74/177 | 41.8 |
Indiana | 38 | 3D, 7R | 10/50 | 15D, 16R | 31/100 | 41/150 | 27.3 |
Iowa | 35 | 8D, 7R | 15/50 | 16D, 13R | 29/100 | 44/150 | 29.3 |
Kansas | 32 | 7D, 10R | 17/40 | 17D, 16R | 33/125 | 50/165 | 30.3 |
Kentucky | 31 | 4D, 5R | 9/38 | 15D, 18R | 33/100 | 42/138 | 30.4 |
Louisiana | 42 | 2D, 3R | 5/39 | 11D, 18R | 29/105 | 34/144 | 23.6 |
Maine | 7 | 11D, 3R | 14/35 | 48D, 19R | 67/151 | 81/186 | 43.5 |
Maryland | 9 | 14D, 1R | 15/47 | 57D, 7R | 64/141 | 79/188 | 42.0 |
Massachusetts | 29 | 11D, 0R | 11/40 | 46D, 4R, 1Ind | 51/160 | 62/200 | 31.0 |
Michigan | 14 | 12D, 3R | 15/38 | 31D, 12R | 43/110 | 58/148 | 39.2 |
Minnesota | 17 | 19D, 3R | 22/67 | 36D, 17R | 53/134 | 75/201 | 37.3 |
Mississippi | 47 | 2D, 7R | 9/52 | 7D, 9R, 2Ind | 18/122 | 27/174 | 15.5 |
Missouri | 36 | 5D, 7R | 12/34 | 28D, 17R | 45/163 | 57/197 | 28.9 |
Montana | 26 | 10D, 4R | 14/50 | 15D, 19R | 34/100 | 48/150 | 32.0 |
Nebraska | 19 | 18NP | 18/49 | n/a | unicameral | 18/49 | 36.7 |
Nevada | 1 | 9D, 4R | 13/21 | 20D, 5R | 25/42 | 38/63 | 60.3 |
New Hampshire | 15 | 7D, 5R | 12/24 | 101D, 49R | 150/400 | 162/424 | 38.2 |
New Jersey | 24 | 8D, 2R | 10/40 | 25D, 6R | 31/80 | 41/120 | 34.2 |
New Mexico | 6 | 10D, 1R | 11/42 | 31D, 7R | 38/70 | 49/112 | 43.8 |
New York | 21 | 17D, 3R | 20/63 | 50D, 3R | 53/150 | 73/213 | 34.3 |
North Carolina | 34 | 13D, 4R | 17/50 | 24D, 9R | 33/120 | 50/170 | 29.4 |
North Dakota | 41 | 1D, 7R | 8/47 | 9D, 18R | 27/94 | 35/141 | 24.8 |
Ohio | 37 | 3D, 5R | 8/33 | 13D, 17R | 30/99 | 38/132 | 28.8 |
Oklahoma | 45 | 5D, 5R | 10/48 | 10D, 9R | 19/101 | 29/149 | 19.5 |
Oregon | 13 | 7D, 2R | 9/30 | 18D, 10R | 28/60 | 37/90 | 41.1 |
Pennsylvania | 26 | 8D, 9R | 17/50 | 37D, 27R | 64/203 | 81/253 | 32.0 |
Rhode Island | 8 | 14D, 2R | 16/38 | 30D, 3R | 33/75 | 49/113 | 43.4 |
South Carolina | 49 | 1D, 3R, 1Ind | 5/46 | 8D, 12R | 20/124 | 25/170 | 14.7 |
South Dakota | 39 | 2D, 5R | 7/35 | 4D, 17R | 21/70 | 28/105 | 26.7 |
Tennessee | 48 | 5D, 3R | 8/33 | 3D, 9R | 12/99 | 20/132 | 15.2 |
Texas | 33 | 4D, 4R | 8/31 | 32D, 14R | 46/150 | 54/181 | 29.8 |
Utah | 40 | 5D, 2R | 7/29 | 8D, 12R | 20/75 | 27/104 | 26.0 |
Vermont | 5 | 12D, 0R | 12/30 | 58D, 9R, 2Ind | 69/150 | 81/180 | 45.0 |
Virginia | 21 | 11D, 3R | 14/40 | 27D, 7R | 34/100 | 48/140 | 34.3 |
Washington | 4 | 15D, 5R | 20/49 | 35D, 12R | 47/98 | 67/147 | 45.6 |
Washington, D.C. | N/A | 4D, 1Ind | 5/13 | n/a | unicameral | 5/13 | 38.5 |
West Virginia | 50 | 0D, 4R | 4/34 | 2D, 11R | 13/100 | 17/134 | 12.7 |
Wisconsin | 28 | 5D, 3R | 8/33 | 20D, 13R | 33/99 | 41/132 | 31.1 |
Wyoming | 44 | 0D, 7R | 7/31 | 3D, 10R | 13/62 | 20/93 | 21.5 |
Note: 24 female legislators overall in Puerto Rico. Affiliations: 8 PNP, 11 PPD, 5 Third Party. [1]
Location | Rank | Senate | Senate ratio | House | House ratio | Overall ratio | Overall percent |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
American Samoa | 5 | 1Ind | 1/18 | 1 | 1/21 | 2/39 | 5.1 |
Guam | 1 | 4D, 2R | 6/15 | n/a | unicameral | 6/15 | 40.0 |
Northern Mariana Islands | 4 | 2D, 1Ind | 3/9 | 1D, 2I | 3/20 | 6/29 | 20.7 |
Puerto Rico | 3 | 13Ind | 13/27 | n/a | 11Ind | 24/78 | 30.8 |
U.S. Virgin Islands | 2 | 4D, 1Ind | 5/16 | n/a | unicameral | 5/16 | 31.3 |
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The first women to serve in any state legislature were Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly and Frances S. Klock, who were all elected in 1894 to the Colorado State House of Representatives. [4] All three were elected the year after women in Colorado obtained the right to vote through popular election in 1893. [5] As Secretary of the House Republican Caucus, Cressingham was the first woman to fill a leadership position in an American legislature. [6] In 1896, Martha Hughes Cannon became the first woman elected to an upper body of a state legislature when she defeated her own husband, Angus M. Cannon, for a seat in the Utah State Senate. [7] [8]
The 50th state to see the debut of female state legislators in their lower house was Hawaii in 1959, who elected Dorothy Devereux and Eureka Forbes to their House of Representatives upon admittance to statehood. Alabama's Senate was the 50th upper house to welcome women when Ann Bedsole and Frances Strong joined the Senate in 1983. [9]
In 2016, the highest shares of female members of a state legislature - at least 35% per state legislature - were in Colorado (30/65 in the House, 12/35 in the Senate), Vermont (65/150 in the House, 9/30 in the Senate), and Arizona (19/60 in the House, 13/30 in the Senate). [10] The shares in Colorado and Vermont decreased to below 40% in 2017, while Arizona, Illinois, Nevada and Washington all saw their numbers increase up to between 35% and 39%. Altogether in 2017, women constitute 24.8% of all state legislators in the United States, [11] a ratio that has increased by less than 4 percentage points since 1994.
Only four chambers have reached a near or absolute majority of women:
Leadership positions at the state legislatures include senate presidents, presidents pro tempore, house speakers, majority and minority leaders of the senate and house. In 2023, women held leadership positions in 35 state senates and in 32 state houses, which corresponds to 26% of 350 positions. [21] 44 women (34D, 10R) serve in these leadership roles at State Senates and 47 (36D, 11R) serve at the State Houses. [21] Nine states (AL, IN, KY, MS, NE, SC, SD, TX, WY) have no women in leadership positions.
There are 10 (9D, 1R) women currently serving as the speakers of State Houses. [22]
Cathy Tilton (R-AK)
Julie McCluskie (D-CO)
Valerie Longhurst (D-DE)
Adrienne A. Jones (D-MD)
Rachel Talbot Ross (D-ME)
Melissa Hortman (D-MN)
Julie Fahey (D-OR)
Joanna McClinton (D-PA)
Jill Krowinski (D-VT)
Laurie Jinkins (D-WA)
There are 15 (11D, 4R) women currently serving as Presidents or Presidents Pro Tem of State Senates. [22]
Kathleen Passidomo (R-FL)
Michelle Kidani (D-HI)
Amy Sinclair (R-IA)
Regina Ashford Barrow (D-LA)
Karen Spilka (D-MA)
Ann H. Rest (D-MN)
Shirley Turner (D-NJ)
Mimi Stewart (D-NM)
Pat Spearman (D-NV)
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY)
Kim L. Ward (R-PA)
Hanna M. Gallo (D-RI)
Louise Lucas (D-VA)
Karen Keiser (D-WA)
Donna J. Boley (R-WV)
According to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), [23] 99 representatives identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander, 383 identify as Black, 192 identify as Latina, 14 identify as Middle Eastern/North African, 36 identify as Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian, 3 identify as Multiracial Alone, and 1735 identify as white.
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of women to vote. The amendment was the culmination of a decades-long movement for women's suffrage in the United States, at both the state and national levels, and was part of the worldwide movement towards women's suffrage and part of the wider women's rights movement. The first women's suffrage amendment was introduced in Congress in 1878. However, a suffrage amendment did not pass the House of Representatives until May 21, 1919, which was quickly followed by the Senate, on June 4, 1919. It was then submitted to the states for ratification, achieving the requisite 36 ratifications to secure adoption, and thereby go into effect, on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment's adoption was certified on August 26, 1920.
The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopted in 1963, defines the role of the Legislature and how it is to be constituted. The chief purposes of the Legislature are to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws. The Legislature meets in the Capitol building in Lansing.
The Colorado General Assembly is the state legislature of the State of Colorado. It is a bicameral legislature consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives that was created by the 1876 state constitution. Its statutes are codified in the Colorado Revised Statutes (C.R.S.). The session laws are published in the Session Laws of Colorado.
The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each district having roughly 80 thousand people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms, and are limited to four consecutive terms in office, but can run again after a four-year respite.
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopted in 1963. The primary purpose of the Legislature is to enact new laws and amend or repeal existing laws.
Since Colorado became a U.S. state in 1876, it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives, beginning with the 44th United States Congress. Prior to statehood, the Colorado Territory sent non-voting delegates to the House of Representatives from 1861 to 1876. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years, and members of the House to two-year terms. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years in general elections, with their re-election staggered. Prior to the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, senators were elected by the Colorado General Assembly. Each state elects a varying number of, but at least one, member of the House, depending on population, to two-year terms. Colorado has sent eight members to the House in each congressional delegation since the 2020 United States Census.
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State Senate, with 49 Senators plus the Lieutenant Governor acting as president. The state is divided into 49 legislative districts, each of which elect one senator and two representatives.
The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the state legislature meets in the Capitol Complex in the state capital of Phoenix. Created by the Arizona Constitution upon statehood in 1912, the Arizona State Legislature met biennially until 1950. Today, they meet annually.
The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives.
Judy Eason McIntyre is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. A Democrat, McIntyre served as an Oklahoma state Senator from 2004 to 2012 representing District 11, which includes Osage and Tulsa counties. She also served as State Representative from 2002 to 2004 representing District 73 where she was the first freshman appointed to the Speaker's Leadership Team. For the 16 years before her election to the Oklahoma Legislature, she was an elected board member for the Tulsa Public Schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The 2012 Project is a nonpartisan national campaign of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. The project's goal is to identify and engage accomplished women to run for the United States Congress and state legislatures following reapportionment and redistricting within each state. U.S. Census data collected every 10 years include information on population shifts across the nation and are used to redraw congressional and state legislative districts resulting in new and open legislative seats. This work is done in order to comply with the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the "one person, one vote" principle. As of the 2010 Census, women made up 50.8% of the population. In terms of congressional and legislative seats, women currently make up 17% of the U.S. Senate and 16.8% of the U.S. House of Representatives. They make up a slightly larger percentage of the state legislatures at 23.6%. The aim of The 2012 Project is to increase the number of women running for state legislative and congressional office in 2012.
Ellie Boldman is an American attorney and politician serving as a Democratic member of the Montana Senate, representing District 45. Previously, she served in the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 90, which includes central Missoula, Montana, from 2011 through 2019. Due to state constitutional term limits, Boldman was unable to file for re-election to the Montana House of Representatives and subsequently filed for election to the Montana Senate Seat 45 in 2020.
On November 7, 1893, a referendum on women's suffrage was held in Colorado that secured women's voting rights. Subsequently, Colorado became the first American state to enact women's suffrage by popular referendum. The act granted women the right to vote "in the same manner in all respects as male persons are."
Clara Cressingham was one of the first women elected to serve in any state legislature in the United States. She was also the first woman to serve in a leadership position in any state legislature.
The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) is a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Established in 1971, it is nationally and internationally recognized as the leading source of scholarly research and current data about U.S. women's political participation. Its mission is "to promote greater knowledge and understanding about women's participation in politics and government and to enhance women's influence and leadership in public life."
Eleanor Nugent Somerville was the first woman elected to the Mississippi Legislature. Her daughter, Lucy Somerville Howorth, was soon elected to that body as well, and the two became the second mother-daughter pair elected to a state legislature in the United States, behind only Helen Timmons Henderson and Helen Ruth Henderson of Virginia.
Gloria Travis Tanner was a politician and public figure in Colorado. A Democrat, she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from 1985-1994. In 1994, she became the first African American woman to serve as a Colorado state senator. In 2000, she founded a leadership and training institute for black women in Colorado. She was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.
Alma V. Short Lafferty was an American suffragist, clubwoman, and politician. She served two terms in the Colorado House of Representatives, from 1908 to 1912.
The 116th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1895 during the governorship of Frederic T. Greenhalge. William M. Butler served as president of the Senate and George von Lengerke Meyer served as speaker of the House.
Alice Ruble was a state legislator in Colorado. She served in the Colorado House of Representatives. She nominated Henry M. Teller for U.S. Senator in support of his re-election. She served in Colorado's 14th General Assembly
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